Cook Local, Eat Global

So, I was on Salon the other day, reading Broadsheet, which is their blog on women’s issues, when my eye was drawn by the headline: “How do you sell a pork chop to a woman?” I clicked on the link to Copyranter’s coverage of an ad that appears in the current issue of Martha Stewart […]

When I was a kid, I used to hate peas. It had to do with eating them from a can–they taste so utterly vile and wretched that way that I cannot blame my younger self for despising them. And then, even when the peas were fresh or frozen, through most of my childhood, they were […]

Why did I pick up 660 Curries, even though I have over thirty or so Indian cookbooks already, many of them outlining various regional cuisines? I have to admit that I bought it because the author, Raghavan Iyer, a former chef, was named IACP (International Association Culinary Professionals) 2004 Teacher of the Year. IACP’s standards […]

This recipe is my own, and does not reflect any “authentic” tradition from any part of India, even though the ingredients, techniques and execution are quite Indian, and results in a very authentic and delicious flavor. I started making dals at Salaam almost from the first day I worked there, not only because I love […]

I have always loved lentils and dried beans. I think that it is because when I was growing up and we were on the lower end of the lower-middle class spectrum, we ate a lot of meals where dried beans and lentils were the centerpiece. Navy bean soup with a hambone, carrots, celery and onions, […]